It’s Summer Reading ’23
May 26, 2023
(Art by: Peder Severin Krøyer, Roses, 1893, Skagens Museum, Skagen, Denmark)
The days are getting longer and so, too, are the lists of enticing books to enjoy on our travels or in our gardens. It’s a season that celebrates reading! I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share a few of the titles that are catching my eye and to join Amy Mair at Red Fern Book Review for our annual Summer Reads chat. Tune in to the Red Fern Book Review podcast episode here to listen to our conversation around the top six summer choices listed below. Looking forward to your thoughts too. Let us know what you’re choosing to read from this list, and beyond!
I love when a book is an escape to another place, particularly when it is described authentically. Shelley Read takes us to Colorado ranch country in Go As A River and as a fifth generation Coloradan, captivates us with beautifully vivid descriptions of scenery she knows and loves. This novel, inspired by real events, follows the story of Victoria Nash, a young woman forging ahead to survive with incredible courage when tragedy strikes and she loses her home and all she’s known. It’s a tale of love and friendship and personal growth. (Comparisons have been made to the character Kya in Where the Crawdads Sing – high praise!) And here’s an example of the “stop for a moment and savour” writing: “The landscapes of our youth create us, and we carry them within us, storied by all they gave and stole, in who we become.” It’s ready to read next on my bedside table and I can’t wait!
For the cozy mystery lovers among us, this one is a fun mashup of a lively round of the board game Clue and The Great British Bake Off. How’s that for great summer entertainment?! A widely followed baking competition is being filmed at an impressive estate in Rhode Island when things go off the rails with some sly shenanigans and then an actual murder. Certainly more serious than a soggy bottom! The cast of entertainingly eccentric characters are all suspect and the hostess herself may not be all she seems. Its publisher describes The Golden Spoon as “a brilliant puzzle filled with shocking twists and turns that will keep you reading late into the night …” On your marks, get set, read!
I am so eager to delve into these pages. Literary escapes can take place within the walls of a museum too, and in this case, not just any old museum, but the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, aka “The Met”. Patrick Bringley, an accomplished writer at The New Yorker, seeks distraction and comfort during a difficult time in his life by finding work at the Museum as a Guard. He stayed in the role for ten years and was able to observe, as an insider, all the behind the scenes workings of the museum. He also gained privileged insight into the art and installations and became part of a special community of Museum staff members. And now, he’s sharing his story and his observations with us. This will be worth the price of admission!
In all its international iterations, this cover wins the prettiest category. Very summery too. India Knight has long been a popular newspaper Lifestyle columnist in the UK and has written earlier novels that might be categorized as “Domestic Fiction” – good natured and downright funny portrayals of women seeking balance in motherhood and life in general. This newest novel is a bit of a departure but I’m sure will be as engaging. Inspired by the 1945 classic “The Pursuit of Love” by Nancy Mitford, the tale of an upper class English family and specifically one daughter’s desperate focus and obsession on finding big love, is brought into the modern age with all the cell phones, Instagram and trips on the Eurostar to be authentic. India Knight’s version is described as “a razor sharp, gloriously funny re-telling” of Mitford’s original story. There are Great Gatsby-esque vibes in the tale and I’m sure this clever new story will delight. Book Clubs could tackle the two novels, The Pursuit of Love and Darling, and compare. Or, look for the recent mini-series of The Pursuit of Love starring Lily James on Prime Video; period costumes and soundtrack to complement your reading.
Nancy Horan will be a familiar name to those who’ve read her groundbreaking fictionalized memoir, “Loving Frank” based on the life of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright. We’ve missed her but she’s returning on June 6th with a dive into the times of President Lincoln. Story lines featuring intense personal struggles are narrated by Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, their Portuguese immigrant “house girl”, and a Minister and barber to Lincoln with personal involvement in the Underground Railroad. These voices enable us to sympathize with the challenges of the changing times and complicated race relations through the Civil War and up to 1908’s Springfield Race Riot. I am certain this will have been a deeply researched novel that will allow us to experience a fascinating look into a dramatic period in American history and give us a perspective on some of the news headlines of today as well. A good historical dive with this one that may end up inspiring more reading about the era.
Mark your calendars so you don’t forget this one; it’s due for release on August 1st, 2023 in Canada. Better yet, pre-order a copy! It’s an epic tale based on an actual historical figure that’s been mythologized through anime and a documentary but whose story has never been told in the form of a novel before. Great time travel and culture crossing with an extraordinary character.
“Set in late 16th-century Africa, India, Portugal, and Japan, The African Samurai is a powerful historical novel based on the true story of Yasuke, Japan’s first foreign-born samurai and the only samurai of African descent—for readers of Esi Edugyan and Lawrence Hill.”
The boy begins life in a small African village but is taken and sold into slavery. Over time he becomes a skilled soldier who is later promoted to the role of personal protector to an Italian Priest and Missionary bound for Japan. When in Japan, he is caught up in a riot amid the Japanese civil war and ends up being “gifted” to the Warlord Nobunaga. The two men forge a bond and the young soldier and protector from Africa is controversially honoured by Nobunaga with the Samurai title and Japanese name, Yasuke. The fact that this enthralling tale actually took place will make this novel all the more entertaining to read. Author Craig Shreve is a likeable Canadian writer who is personally committed to researching and honouring Yasuke’s story in his novel. Really looking forward to this one!
Do hope you find something that interests you here and that you tune into Red Fern Book Review to hear more about these choices. I will be offering a few more titles to explore this Summer in a second instalment of Summer Reading ’23. Stay tuned!
Best Books I Haven’t Told You About … Yet!
May 27, 2020
Ok, “Anonymous” commenter – this one’s for you. I can’t resist responding to a “Quick, I need a book recommendation!” plea … These are the books that stood out to me in the last year or so of reading. Hope you find something that sparks your interest. Feel free to add your own recent favourites in the Comments.
The Braid by Laetitia Colombani – A creatively structured story of three women living across the globe from one another, in vastly different circumstances, whose tales become entwined in poignant ways. Not widely promoted for some reason but a special find. I hope more readers get to enjoy it.
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily and Finding Home by Tembi Locke – I simply adored this. I wasn’t expecting the writing to be so evocative but there were moments to stop and savour throughout. You will smell the Sicilian soil and tomatoes, I promise! An emotional story but told without high drama, just tenderly and respectfully shared. I don’t re-read very often (so many books, so little time) but am tempted already to re-visit this one.
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins – A juggernaut of positive promotion preceded its publication, Oprah blessed it too, but then controversy set in. I’ll leave you to the Googling to learn more about the politics but my experience as a reader was absolutely positive. I was captivated by the storytelling and found it to be a fascinating portrayal of a mother and son’s bond while bravely fleeing terrifying circumstances. I suggest reading the Author’s Note first. When I learned of the author’s inspiration for the story, I could personally reconcile any concerns raised among the naysayers.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee – A big thank you to KM for this recommendation. A juicy big multi-generational saga set over several decades in Korea and Japan. An immigrant journey and a family story that is epic in scale and yet intimate in its portrayal of each character. Engrossing.
I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott – Sometimes when all the news articles seem to be too much, the reading of a personal essay can be a pleasant, just as brief, escape. This collection from a charming, self-professed Type A-overthinker, abounds with humour and poignancy. Philpott writes self-deprecatingly but honestly and often with a wink. Marriage, parenthood, big life moments, and more importantly, the little moments all feature.
The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali – A stationery shop in Tehran in the tumultuous 1950s provides the setting for a young love to ignite. The romance is complicated by politics, culture and family but the love remains intensely felt for a lifetime. An emotional story of paths taken and not taken – a really heart wrenching journey but so worth the read.
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal – Don’t let the title scare you away (or make you overly giddy for that matter!) This is a wonderful story of a writing group for Punjabi widows that takes a bit of an entertaining turn. I get so many requests for “funny book” recommendations and this one has lovely humour, though it has some feisty adventure in it too. In fact, I was surprised by the unexpected depth. Looking forward to Jaswal’s next work.
The Library Book by Susan Orlean – AN thoughtfully gifted this to me and I looked forward to an interesting non-fiction foray. But let me tell you, I was not expecting this to be as riveting a tale as it was. Wow. I was fascinated by each of the many threads that Orlean wove together. It could be considered an academic account but it reads like a page-flipping novel. The essence of the story begins with the 1986 Los Angeles library fire and then fans out to explore the life of the suspected arsonist, the history of the library – its architecture and the people who were part of its soul over the years. This was written by a lover of reading, and this lover of reading approves!
An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff – Homelessness is a social condition that intimidates many people. In this memoir, Laura Schroff writes honestly about her own lack of understanding and how, through a simple gesture that grew, her life was changed by a young boy on the streets of New York City. Reminiscent of The Blind Side, this is an inspirational story that will stick with you.
Belgravia by Julian Fellowes – The word “romp” keeps coming forth whenever I describe this book. It reminds me of one of those Oscar Wilde plays, a comedy of manners, where everyone is dancing around everyone else and we’re only in on half of the story until it all pieces together in the end with a few wily maneuvers that leave you gasping and snickering. Julian Fellowes is of course the creator of the Downton Abbey antics and this, too, has become televised in the UK. The book was such fun, I can only imagine the TV series will be too.
Turbulence by David Szalay – A slim little chapter book oh-so-creatively pieced together and beautifully written. You know one of my favourite books of all time is Let the Great World Spin and this has a little sprinkle of that fairy dust. A passenger on a plane (you know, in the olden days) converses with his neighbouring seatmate. That seatmate goes on to have another conversation in a different city and so on and so on. The story winds around the globe and back again connecting regular people in extraordinary ways.
The Waiting Hours by Shandi Mitchell – The world of first responders doesn’t often appear in mainstream novels and so this was an interesting world in which to travel. With elements of suspense and heart wrenching emotion, it provides a glimpse into the challenge of processing trauma, personally and professionally. A Canadian writer who has also written Under This Unbroken Sky.
Curiosity & Remarkable Creatures
October 29, 2010
Mary Anning (1799-1847) was a fossil collector and expert in paleontology from Lyme Regis in Dorset, England. Among her most notable discoveries were an icthyasaur, plesiosaur and pterosaur (“saury” – won’t describe the ancient creatures here but you get the drift!) All important finds and instrumental in proving the theory of extinction: ancient species had existed at one time, in an age of “dinosaurs”. Mary is a fascinating character in history, respected now for her extraordinary contribution to modern day understanding of prehistorical life and geographical history but challenged with a lack of recognition in her day due to her gender and low social status. As an aside, she was also the inspiration behind the verse: “She sells sea shells by the seashore”.
Two accomplished writers were motivated to explore and capture Mary’s story in fiction for the rest of us to enjoy and, coincidentally, at just about the same time. The books were published within a few months of one another early in 2010. Curiosity by Canadian writer Joan Thomas is enjoying many accolades and celebration; it was long listed for the Giller prize and named The Vancouver Sun’s inaugural selection in its new on-line book club. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier has also been reviewed positively and I’m sure will be picked up by those who’ve enjoyed her other terrific books: The Virgin Blue, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, Burning Bright and others. I’m an enormous fan of her writing.
Each of the authors took a distinct approach to imagining Mary’s story. I think this makes a great opportunity to read both and compare the versions of her so-called life – perhaps a good Book Club task for one of those longer spells between meetings. If one had to choose to read just one based on the cover alone, which would you select? Let us know what you thought if you’ve already read one or the other. Click on the book covers to be taken to the authors’ websites and note the similarity there. You’ll find great information on each site.
The Intrepid Pens – “Quiet Magic”
October 7, 2010
in·trep·id (ĭn-trěp’ĭd) adj. Resolutely courageous; fearless, brave, bold. See Synonyms at brave. (1627 (implied in intrepidness ), from L. intrepidus “unshaken, undaunted,” from in- “not” + trepidus “alarmed.”). Additional synonyms: audacious, gritty, gutsy, heroic.
I happened upon word of a wonderful endeavour in our fair city a month or so ago and it’s been dwelling in my thoughts ever since. Our little blog here seemed like the perfect spot to launch a conversation about it and perhaps even inspire a flurry of action. While I dallied, sorting my thoughts and words, The Vancouver Sun and the Vancouver Courier coincidentally both printed related articles this week. The focus? The Intrepid Pens.
The Intrepid Pens is a creative writing workshop and book club based at the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre on Cordova Street in Vancouver. Founder, facilitator and nurturer of the group, Amanda Grondahl encourages the women living with addiction, poverty, and homelessness to engage their creativity and self-expression through writing of their own. She also gives them an opportunity to explore and discuss novels of the group’s choosing. In her own words from her blog she says: ” … how amazing it is when 15 (or so) women get together to talk, read, write, share, laugh, and grow; how group members’ writing has improved; how group members’ confidence is soaring; how some are sharing their stories for the very first time; how beautiful it is that those who struggle with reading or writing are read to by fellow group members – their work transcribed for them, and read aloud by their friends; how we’re learning through reading and healing through writing; how several group members have already been published, and how group members talk with excitement about writing more, learning more, and doing more…” Amanda believes there is a “quiet magic” taking place within the group. She is adamant that the women are as important to her as she might be to them and fondly speaks of “my ladies” as she writes “… we are a little family of writers and readers and friends now. …”
Amanda makes it clear that she is enormously grateful to a number of sponsors, friends and families who offer help, support and donations. There are a few very easy ways in which Bedside Table Books and our readers can give The Intrepid Pens a little boost of encouragement too:
Firstly, Amanda and her fellow Intrepid-ers have applied to the Pepsi Refresh Grant Campaign with hope of qualifying for $25,000.00 toward their cause. The grants are based upon the number of supportive votes each applicant receives. Please take the time to add your vote by clicking here and then crossing your fingers that the group is selected to receive the money. Voting deadline is October 31st.
Secondly, The Intrepid Pens have need of the following:
- Novels (new or used copies)
- Writing supplies (journals, notebooks, and pens)
- Bus tickets for transportation around the city (Adult 1-zone Faresavers)
- Money (for books, supplies, food and drinks, transportation, field trips, and special events)
As readers, many in book clubs, you might like to review the Intrepid Pens’ impressive book list (they are reading great stuff!) and see if you have any copies you’d like to donate. If your book club or a group of your friends has recently read one of the list entries then suggest anyone not wishing to keep her copy share it with the Intrepid ladies. Another option is to shop for a few copies and send them along.
I hope this fine venture and its story captures your hearts as firmly as it does mine.
Visit the website for The Intrepid Pens here and follow their story or make contact.
You may recall another special book club in an earlier post this year. Read The Word is Their Bond from March 12th.
BiblioBurro – Donkey Library
May 2, 2010
Here is a wonderful (possibly even awesome!) story of a devoted teacher, Luis Humberto Soriano, who finds a way to bring books to children who otherwise would not have access to them in rural Colombia. This video shows how the children’s love of learning and of books is ignited through his mobile “book club”.
An excerpt from an article at CNN where Luis Soriano was nominated as one of the CNN Heroes of 2010:
“Soriano, 38, is a primary school teacher who spends his free time operating a “biblioburro,” a mobile library on donkeys that offers reading education for hundreds of children living in what he describes as “abandoned regions” in the Colombian state of Magdalena…
“I saw two unemployed donkeys at home and had the idea [to use] them in my biblioburro project because they can carry a heavy load,” Soriano said. “I put the books on their backs in saddles and they became my work tools…
Every Wednesday at dusk and every Saturday at dawn, Soriano leaves his wife and three young children to travel to select villages — up to four hours each way — aboard a donkey named Alfa. A second donkey, Beto, follows behind, toting additional books and a sitting blanket. They visit 15 villages on a rotating basis…
More than 4,000 youngsters have benefited from Soriano’s program since it began in 1990. Soriano says countless others have been helped, too; parents and other adult learners often participate in the lessons…”
Inspiring!
